The Week From Hell
by IHaveASiriusObsession
Summary: Lily Evans unknowingly agrees to play host to quite an eager house guest and his charming comrade. LE/JP-SB/OC
1. Letters

It all began, out of the simplest of things, with a letter.

_Lily—_

_Gary! Go away! Errg—look what you are making me write!_

_Pardon the above; that damn cat is trying to use my leg as a scratching post and I have no spare parchment rolls easily accessible (aka: I'm in my room and our paper supply is all the way through the corridor and down the stairs and at the opposite end of the house, which is an extremely tiring distance to walk when all you've eaten in the past day is four bars of chocolate—scratch that, five bars—so don't give me that look! I know it's on your face right now! All disapproving and eye-rolling and such!)._

_First: I am sorry about the horrible quality of your pitiful summer so far. I fully intend to liven things up for you, Lil! Just tell me when and I'll floo over, all right?_

_Second: Give your sister a good punch in the gut for me, will you? No—scratch that, I'll do it myself when I arrive._

_Third: Pardon the briefness—I need to go and hex my cat into oblivion. Or possibly drop it out my window...where it can mysteriously find its way into the pool and drown...mysteriously…._

_Much love and loveliness,_

_—Maggie_

_P.S. I've enclosed a chocolate bar. Dad bought them from Honeydukes last time he was in the village and I've eaten about ten of them so far. Please spare me the obesity._

_P.P.S. You realize I'm joking about the cat thing, right? (At least sort of….)_

**_-...-_**

_Mags—_

_I would be absolutely delighted if you came to stay for a few days! Absolutely __bloody__ delighted, Mags. In fact—I beg you to come as soon as possible. I believe my sanity is already gone out the window, so please arrive before my hair begins falling out. I am far too young to have bald patches._

_Shall we say Friday night? Or sometime over the weekend? Petunia's on holiday with Vernon until Monday, and I'd rather have you arrive and settle in before she returns._

_Owl me,_

_—Lily_

_P.S. The chocolate was delicious—tell your dad I say thanks!_

_P.P.S. I certainly hope you weren't actually considering drowning your cat and making it look like an accident, for cats are extremely hydrophobic, you see. Unless you plan to frame the dog, I am afraid you'll be an instant suspect._

**_-...-_**

_Lily—_

_Damn it, Gary! Oooh, I actually have a spare bit of parchment this time. Er—that's right, I stuck my gum in it. Ah, oh well._

_Friday…is a bit of a snag. I've just found out my cousin is coming to stay while our parents go on holiday together for the week. This is the problem with my family—lack of communication! They've only got __one__ child! Christ—Gary!_

_[Giant Ink Splatter]_

_Scratch that—one child and one exceptionally attention-seeking, hair pulling, damn well annoying cat!_

_Anyway, as I said, my cousin is coming to stay, and they've—my parents, that is to say—have forbid be from visiting anyone. They said I have to look after him, which is completely absurd if you ask me. Hire a damn baby sitter, yeah?_

_Eh, so, that's that. I'll come over as soon as I can; they get back on the Sunday of next week, so keep in touch until then, all right?"_

_Love and chocolate,_

_—Maggie_

_P.S. I've enclosed another bar of chocolate. Its sole purpose is comfort food, so don't feel bad, just eat._

**_-...-_**

_Maggie—_

_Would your parents consider allowing you and your cousin to spend the week here? My parents have no problem with it and we have the extra space, not to mention your presence will cause my mind to think coherently and not about what program is on the telly at two in the morning when I'm bored out of my mind but should really be sleeping. And if they do happen to say no, confound them for Merlin's sake! You're a Witch!_

_—Lily_

_P.S. I was only joking, of course—please don't really confound them!_

**_-...-_**

_Lils—_

_They've said yes! Oh—I could kiss them! Actually, I did. Not on the lips or anything, Lily, they're my __parents__!_

_We'll arrive Friday night, around five, I expect. Don't lose anymore of your sanity until I get there, you hear?_

_—Maggie_

_P.S. My cousin is bringing a friend that's been staying with him for the summer. Hope that's not a problem?_

_P.P.S. I'm bringing loads more chocolate with me, so don't eat anything until I see you!_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

The chapters to follow may be longer, may be shorter, may be orange, may be extremely hilarious, or extremely angsty. Okay, they won't really be orange, I can at least promise you that. Thanks for reading! **  
><strong>


	2. Talk of Tents

Lily Evans tapped the opposite end of her ballpoint pen on the kitchen table several times in succession while her foot twitched up and down and her eyes stared out the four-paned window and into her neighbours' yard where a blue bird was drinking from a stone bird bath. A note pad lay on the checkered table cloth before her; the top of it reading, "Things to Do Before Friday". On this list, twenty things were listed quite neatly in feminine handwriting, and out of those twenty, nineteen were crossed off. This last item was apparently much more strenuous to perform (or rather, maintain) than the rest, judging not only by her body language, but also by the fact that her neighbour had been waving in her direction for the past thirty seconds and she had not noticed because of the thoughts that had consumed her mind. Thoughts of the last item on the list.

It was outlined in a box several times over and had a large asterisk beside it in the left margin. It was written slightly larger than the rest of the list and in all capital letters: KEEP SANITY.

This task was not crossed off because Lily was not sure if she HAD kept her sanity over the past several weeks. She had arrived home from her sixth year at Hogwarts with expectations of what her summer would turn out to be, but never in her right mind had she expected it to be quite like this. Of course, at the moment she wasn't in her right mind. And she certainly hoped that "right" part of her mind had just gone on holiday and would be returning shortly, rather than the thought that it had taken its permanent leave.

A clock chimed the hour and Lily's eyes flew immediately to check the time, hoping it wasn't a mirage or a dream. She highly doubted the latter; she had had about six cups of coffee since the morning, though the former wouldn't surprise her, for she hadn't really eaten anything all day and why shouldn't she be having hallucinations with her sanity gone? It would certainly fit. Even through this thought, she stood from her chair and crumpled the list she had made in preparation of this moment, throwing it into the rubbish bin as she passed it on the route to the sitting room. It made a slight thumping sound as it hit the bottom of the small, wiry, and otherwise empty bin, reminding her of a thought bouncing around in one's mind. Quite a stupid mind, only to have one thought.

Sitting down on the sofa positioned directly in front of the quaint fireplace, Lily tucked her hands in between her legs and leaned back, relaxing her shoulders. She watched the fireplace intently for about a minute and then lifted her left wrist to examine her watch. It was two minutes past five. As she lowered her wrist once again, to her delight an emerald fire suddenly flickered to life in the fireplace and a moment later, out shot a slender girl with dark hair and a suitcase clutched in one arm. The girl coughed slightly at the black ash that seemed to be everywhere before she broke into a broad grin at the sight of Lily, who had jumped off of the couch, mirroring the girl's expression.

"Lily!" Maggie Cooper dropped her luggage and nearly tackled the red head to the ground. She let go a split second later to cough in the other direction, clutching her chest. "Inhaled a mouth full of ash on the way here," she explained wrinkling her nose. "Not pleasant, believe me...mind if I help myself to some water?" Lily was about to reply, but Maggie took it upon herself to head into the kitchen without a response, which caused Lily to smile fondly at her mate's nature and sigh happily at the fact she would be spending the next week with her. Maybe some of her sanity would return after all.

"Where are your cousin and his mate?" Lily asked, stepping into the kitchen herself and admiring the way Maggie so casually picked through the Evans's fridge, despite the fact she had only visited one other time.

"Should be along shortly," Maggie extracted a pitcher of water from the fridge and set it on the counter while Lily fetched her a glass from the upper cabinets to save her the rummaging. "They decided it would be best to pack last minute—something about 'we're on holiday, we'll pack when we bloody well want to.'" She poured herself a glass of water. "You can imagine how that conversation will adjourn when they're two days late and have to floo back home for their pants." She grinned slightly wickedly before taking a drink.

Lily laughed purely out of relief. "Never leave, Maggie." Her face was joking, but her tone was nearly serious.

"I won't leave." Maggie said quite sincerely. "I can pitch a tent in your yard, and you can bring me breakfast every morning and read me a story every night. I'll be just like your sister, but your neighbours' will probably think I'm a quack job when I get naked and shower under the hose. And I suppose it will be rather cold in the winter time. Eh, it's a work in progress. Or rather a thought in progress, I suppose." She smirked brightly as she brought the glass to her mouth, her teeth biting the rim.

"What story?" Lily inquired, an elbow propped on the counter beside where she stood, her lips in an almost painful smile (considering this facial muscle had been used quite rarely over the past several weeks).

Maggie considered this, her head cocked slightly. "Babbity Rabbity," she decided. "I like the name—it rhymes. The actual story, not so much. So maybe a Muggle fairy tale? Cinder-whatsits? I really should broaden my horizons, anyway."

"Yes, and what a better place to start than by educating yourself in the art of Muggle fairy tales." Lily agreed, hearing a loud crash from the sitting room the moment the words left her lips. She looked at Maggie who said sheepishly, "Sounds like they're here!"


	3. Quite a Sight

To say the very least, it was quite a sight indeed. Though this delusion, she thought, was quite vivid. It frightened her at how intricate it was, actually. It looked as though the fireplace had exploded; there was black soot everywhere from across all of the furniture to the dark footprints in the white carpet. There were two boys standing curiously in the middle of the room, staring back at her, and she vaguely wondered what part of her subconscious her mind had drug this scenario out of. For, though these two boys were covered in ash, they oddly resembled familiar faces. She couldn't quite place them until the taller of the two grinned widely and the other threaded fingers through his long, dark curtain hair cockily.

Yes, she had gone mad. Completely bonkers. And as she stared dumbstruck at the scene before her, her brain connected several things at one time and she looked towards the source of the commotion, which she couldn't possibly have imagined, for Maggie had heard it too. It was the fireplace tools, of all things, strewn across the floor and scattered from their original placings in a neat rack on their black, metal stand. This was the reason she couldn't pass this whole thing off as a dream. This was the reason for her impending doom, her ultimate demise. This was the reason why she strode over to the tools that lay on the ground and one by one chucked them out the open window and onto the front lawn.

"She's taking it better than I expected," Sirius Black commented lightly, watching her with a bemused expression on his face.

James Potter's brow was furrowed anxiously, though his lips were upturned slightly in a smile. "Yes, Padfoot, that's exactly what I would call 'taking it well.'"

Maggie leaned against the doorframe that led to the kitchen, the glass of water still in her hand. "Let her have it out. Can't last much longer—she'll run out of things to throw." She also looked slightly entertained by Lily's performance, but guilt shown through her brow. "Clean up a bit, will you?"

James nodded, eyes moving from Lily and hand drawing his wand out of his back pocket. One glare at Sirius and he did the same, but not before he said, "I think it gives the room quite a woodland feel. Cabins and all, yes?"

"You are incorrigible." Maggie commented, smirking slightly. She took a sip of her glass and turned her back to enter the kitchen.

"Get back here Maggie." Lily said quietly, though her voice carried to the kitchen regardless. It was an angry tone; a menacing tone. Yet oddly calm and collected at the same time. It was a tone that frightened James immensely, intrigued Sirius, and caused Maggie to know that she was in for whatever wrath Lily had built up over the summer, which she did not find very appealing at the moment. Or at any moment, really.

Lily walked calmly over to Maggie, who had reentered the room and once again leaned against the doorframe. "Yes, Lily?" She said as soothingly as possible, a tone that was ruined by her cocked eyebrow.

"I noticed you failed to mention _which_ cousin you were bringing." Lily said, smiling quite politely yet at the same time frighteningly. Her arms were by her sides, fists scrunched into balls, knuckles white. A vain was throbbing in her forehead and it looked just about ready to explode all over the freshly cleaned room, which simply wouldn't do at all.

"You didn't ask," Maggie replied simply, shrugging. Her eyes were slightly wide as though she was slightly apologetic about this predicament, but that eyebrow was still quirked, ruining the expression and coming off more sarcastic than anything else.

"Shall we make ourselves at home, then?" Sirius said, gesturing around. He lounged (for Sirius Black never sat, he always lounged) against the maroon sofa and set his arms along the back of the cushions, looking quite elegant indeed. "Lovely," he commented as he 'settled in.'

James followed his lead and perched on the arm of the sofa and ran a hand through his untidy raven hair, an action which succeeded in not only mussing it up even further, but spraying more ash on the carpet that had been nested within. He met Maggie's eyes over Lily's shoulder with a questioning and slightly worried expression; Maggie wrinkled her nose in response.

"Kitchen." Lily ordered, pointing her arm in that direction before the two girls left the sitting room, the door closing behind them.

"Now, perhaps this is a bit presumptuous," Sirius drawled, and James looked at him, "but it seems to me like she is quite pleased to see us."

James groaned, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "For once, Padfoot, behave yourself. Moony isn't around to keep you in check, so please don't make me stoop to his level."

"I haven't a clue what you mean, Prongs." Sirius quipped innocently, eyes narrowed mischievously.

"Don't make me confound you."

**-...-**

"You said yourself it was all right if I brought a cousin!" Maggie argued, the fact she was pointing out was completely pointless though, and she knew it.

The vein in Lily's skull throbbed. "You have about fifty cousins, Maggie. How the hell am I supposed to know _which_ bloody one you're talking about unless you specifically tell me! You made it sound like they were around thirteen!"

"Well, technically speaking, I didn't lie to you," Maggie tried again. "I—I thought you would be so cheerful to see me, James and Sirius would just be a—a perk!" Maggie grinned at her wording. "They're both frightful good at Trans, and that homework McGonagall left us is bloody _torture_—"

"I've already finished the homework!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "But that's off the point—"

"Listen, Lily," Maggie began, cutting her off. "James is family. I—I didn't want, well _he_ didn't want to tell you this...but—but his dad is sick. He's not doing well. He hasn't even told Sirius about it yet...so can't you just _try_ to be a tad hospitable? I'm not asking you to suddenly become mates, but—but I thought if I got him out of the house for a week, in a different setting, he'd—he could get his mind off it for a bit." Maggie half smiled. "I know you must think I sprung this on you, but I knew you wouldn't agree any other way, and—and I don't know what else to do. James and his dad...they're quite close, and he's just been—"

Lily put a hand up to stop her. "All right." She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "All right."

Maggie broke into a wide smile, taking this as the most positive answer she could possibly receive, and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll keep them in check, all right?"

"Or at least attempt to," Lily said dryly, but her slight smile said that she was on board with the situation. And she was. Maggie was like family to her, and if James was family to Maggie, then that made James sort of like family. This thought intensely frightened Lily, and she quickly shook it from her mind. Maggie seemed desperate, though, and her heart wasn't made of stone. "Just make sure to feed them twice a day and keep them off of my mum's flowers."

Maggie laughed gratefully. "Thank you so much, Lily." Her voice was as meaningful as her eyes, and Lily knew she meant it.

Lily smiled. "Yes, well...I can't say I won't regret it. Ask me in about a week."

"Once you're through the first twenty-four hours, the rest is a breeze." Maggie promised, winking. "We should probably go and make sure they aren't pissing on the carpet, though. I haven't quite got them housetrained."

Lily laughed, though if it was out of exasperation or that she sensed impending doom, or just because she sincerely hoped Maggie was joking about the boys urinating in her sitting room, was not to be determined. The two exited the kitchen and found James and Sirius just where they had left them on the sofa.

"Evans," Sirius grinned. "I don't believe we've said our greetings yet."

Everyone in the room ignored this, and James got to his feet, putting a hand behind his head. "Evans—"

"Don't." Lily said firmly. "Please, don't." His expression was sincere, which made red slowly creep up her neck and onto her cheeks, for she had just chucked items onto her front lawn like a lunatic. This made her temper rise slightly. She did not know what else to say, and he did not look about to speak, so she said the only thing she could think of: "You have ash in your hair."

James's hand jumped up and he brushed his hair around, allowing several clumps of ashes to graze the white carpet. "Sorry about that..." He waved his wand and the ashes disappeared; she had a feeling he wasn't just apologizing for the ash, but rather the week from hell that was ahead of her.


	4. Mugs of Water

"What—no hug, Evans?" Sirius asked, expression one of false-sadness.

Lily stared down at him. Sirius chuckled quietly thinking her aims were to intimidate him.

"I will hex you if you don't remove your shoes from the coffee table, and that's about as touchy-feely as I'm going to be this week unless you cooperate." Lily's fingers tapped against the wand in her pocket as if to make her point clear. "I don't suppose you want to incessantly sing Muggle show tunes for the remaints of your years?"

Sirius shrugged. "I think they're rather catchy, actually." To Lily's surprise, he did lower his feet to the floor. He wore heavy black biker boots with silver buckles, severely ripped blue jeans, and a leather jacket over a black shirt. His dark hair fell nearly to his shoulders, looking elegant in a way only he could pull off.

James, on the other hand, wore a short-sleeved dark green shirt with immensely less ragged jeans. His skin was slightly tanner than Sirius's, and his hair much more unruly. He smiled at Lily, looking at her as if he was assessing her in some way. "All right?" he asked, quite timidly.

Lily sighed for what she thought not to be the first time in this upcoming week. She pulled her lips into a tight sarcastic smile. "What do suppose I'm going to say to that?"

Maggie clapped her hands together. "Yes, well...lovely! I think I'll go show Sirius his quarters. Sirius?"

Sirius winked at James before he and Maggie disappeared into the corridor; the creaking of the steps could be heard as they ascended the staircase.

"She didn't tell you." James rubbed the back of his neck. "I just assumed you knew, Evans, I'm—"

"Don't apologize." Lily stopped him. Although she thought it awful sweet of him to try to make amends. Sweet, and quite out of character.

James smiled conspiratorially. "I wasn't going to."

"Than what, may I ask, were you planning to say?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

"You may ask," James quipped. "And I was planning to say that I'm incredibly parched and could do with a glass of water. Or a mug, as I'm not too fussy."

Lily cocked her head, highly doubting this was what he was going to say. "Really?"

"Really." He grinned crookedly at her, one hand running through his untidy locks.

"A mug of water it is, then." She entered the kitchen with James following behind her.

Immediately, James walked to the kitchen window and shut it firmly. "Just so you're not tempted," he explained with humour. "You might knock out one of the neighbours with that arm of yours."

Lily grinned sarcastically as she poured James a glass of water and handed it to him. He inspected disapprovingly before he drank. "I thought we had agreed on the mug?"

Lily leaned against the kitchen counter, watching him as he sat at the small kitchen table positioned in front of the window. "Transfigure it yourself, if you want it so badly."

He grinned up at her, clearly taking this as a challenge, and drew his wand. With a moment of focus and a quick wave, the glass transformed effortlessly into a soft blue mug. He held it up to the rest of the kitchen, admiring how it coordinated with the hangings.

Lily shook her head, but said nothing, knowing that the sarcastic remark that was about to leave her mouth would not better the situation she had somehow gotten herself into.

James downed the mug in several gulps. "I prefer Muggle water," he declared once he was finished.

"We all live on the same planet." Lily pointed out, her arms crossed. "At least physically."

"Are you insinuating something about my current mental state?" James asked, leaning forward in his chair.

Lily thought for a moment. "Pass."

"Pardon me?"

"I'll pass on answering that," she said. And it was her turn to smile conspiratorially.

"Which translates as...?" he prodded persistently.

She looked down, her grin widening. "Shockingly, it translates as 'I'll pass.'"

"Now you're just messing with me."

"I enjoy doing that every once in a while."

"Since when?"

"Since..." She shrugged quite cutely (in his opinion, which was extremely biased). "Since now."

James did not know where this pleasantry was coming from. it wasn't as though they had spent the last term at Hogwarts rowing, but they hadn't spent it as mates either. It was a mutual relationship, he supposed. He had tried—oh, Merlin had he tried!—to gain her friendship. He had changed a lot over the past year; more than either he or Lily knew. And she had noticed. Mostly the little things, but she HAD noticed.

"What the hell is this?" Sirius asked as he entered the kitchen, holding up a blue toilet disk. "Do you eat it?"

Lily blew a laugh out her nose that turned into a fit of giggles. James and Sirius looked at her oddly, for they were from magical familys and knew not of the sacred powers of toilet disks. Maggie, who had come in behind Sirius, was just as intrigued.

"You put that in the toilet," Lily explained, causing Sirius to knit his brow slightly at the strange object he still supported. "It cleans it and as a result, the water turns blue."

Sirius shook his head, setting the disk on the counter. "Muggles..."

"Where are your parents?" Maggie asked, picking an apple out of the fruit basket and polishing it on her tight Weird Sisters tee-shirt before taking the seat across from her cousin.

"Went to the market," Lily glanced at her watch, "should be back quite soon. You should bring your luggage upstairs," she said to James, for Maggie and Sirius had already done so. "Your room is the second on the left."

As James stood to aquiecse, Maggie nodded her head and motioned quietly towards James, mouthing "go along." Lily restrained her eyeroll with great effort, but did as her friend requested.

"You'll have to share with Sirius," Lily said as the two ascended the staircase, "we only have one extra guest room."

The Evans's house was what one could comfortably call 'quaint.' It had the bare necessities, such as a kitchen, a sitting room, a dining room, three bedrooms, one guest room, and two lavratories. There was a gravel driveway in the small front yard, and a tiny garden in the slightly bigger backyard. It was a home equipped for a family of four, though five could squeeze in with a bit of extra effort. Six, however, was pushing it, most especially when those fifth and sixth people were James Potter and Sirius Black.

"It's definitely no Potter Manor, but you'll have to make do." Lily continued as the two reached the small landing at the base of the second floor. James couldn't tell if she was joking, but swore he heard a note of sarcasm. So far he had a tally of four sarcastic tones and expressions just since he had arrived not fifteen minutes ago.

"It isn't," he agreed absentmindedly, eyes circling around the small corridor that the five bedrooms branched off of. Lily stopped walking and turned to face him, an eyebrow quirked. "I didn't mean—that is, I like it," he stammered. "It—it's different from what I'm used to, is all. It's too quiet at my place." He finished lamely, hand jumping to rub the back of his head.

Lily looked faintly amused. She led him into the second door on the left, revealing a fair sized room with a two double beds against one wall and a dresser facing them of the other. The window was against the far wall and provided a peculiarly good view into the neighbours lavratory.

James set his trunk on the floor and smiled at Lily. "Thanks, for—for, you know...playing along with my diabolical cousin's schemes."

She put her hands on her hips and remarked sarcastically, "Now I see how you two are related."

Five.

They looked similar enough, for sure. Maggie and James shared the same raven black hair (although hers was longer and considerably more tidy), the same tall and slender build, and sometimes even the same facial expressions. Maggie's father and James's father were brothers, and looked quite similar to one another themselves.

"Maggie is...Maggie." He put his hands up in surrender.

"Well said," Lily commended with the most sarcasm yet. James wondered how she could be so hostile and so extremely attractive at the same time. Her emerald eyes were slightly narrowed, dark red hair fell in waves just below her shoulders, her legs looked absolutely fantastic in the denim shorts she wore, and the light blouse, he thought, could use one less button and be a bit more see-through (but that would be just wishful thinking).

"Perhaps we should—?" Lily motioned to the hall after a few moments of silence between them.

"—and of course she should keep her options open, being so talented and, if I may be so bold, beautiful, but I strongly think she should seriously consider it as a possible career option—" Sirius could be heard saying as Lily and James descended the stairs. Lily quickened her pace, anger rising as she found Sirius seated at the table with her father, the latter who had quite an intrigued expression on his face.

"Oh, hello, Lily dear," her mother smiled gently as she unloaded the groceries with the help of Maggie. Mrs. Evans was slightly shorter than her daughter, had a kind face, and certain aura of grace surrounding her.

Lily glared at Sirius, who merely winked in return. She would remain calm. Patience is virtue (though she would lean quickly the contrary in the week ahead of her as she comes to spend more time with one Sirius Black).

"Dad, I see you've met Sirius." Lily smiled what she thought was a quite genuine smile, and it would have been had it been directed soley at her father instead of Sirius.

Mr. Evans was tall and had a slight belly. His hair (although it was now quite scarce and a tad grey) was clearly the same shade of red as his daughter's. "Yes," he smiled as though intensely interested. "Sirius here tells me that you, what was the phrase, lad? Are quite the talent at 'shaking your maker?'"

He was a dead man. Oh, Merlin, would she murder him.

"I think Lily would make quite an exotic dancer," Sirius continued rather seriously. "She's young, beautiful, and knows how to—"

"All right Sirius." James said sternly, surprising Lily. He looked half amused and half annoyed at his friend's behaviour.

Mr. Evans looked at James, his hands intertwined and set on the table. "And you must be—"

"James Potter, sir." James produced a polite yet charming grin. How he could accomplish that expression without looking cheeky was beyond Lily's knowledge.

"Ah, James Potter. Maggie's cousin, yes?" Mr. Potter asked, apprasing James with an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir."

Mr. Evans turned to Lily. "Sir..." He smiled. I like this one, dear. He's a keeper." He winked at the two of them.

It took Lily's brain several moments to process this. In which Maggie asked, "Where does this go, Mrs. Evans?", Sirius tried and failed to contain his grin, and James stood there like an idiot, hoping Lily would say nothing to the contrary.

"He's not my boyfriend." Lily blurted out. Everyone in the room stared at her. "That—that is, we're not dating." She glanced a James. "No, no, no—we're _not_ dating." She laughed at the incredulousness of this very thought. "No, no...NO."

"I think we've got the point, Lily." Maggie remarked.

"Yes, well I myself have been waiting for Lily to discover her feelings for poor James, who is nothing short of desperate to have her." Sirius consented solemnly, to which Mr. Evans grinned and patted the chair inbetween himself and Sirius.

James glanced sideways at Lily, who was throwing him a look that said nothing less than murder.

"Come, now, lad." Mr. Evans insisted, his hand motioning to the chair. James finally did aquiesce. "So tell me about yourself, James."

"He's fantastic at Quidditch," Maggie piped up, setting a loaf of bread on the counter. "He's also the best his year—besides Lily, of course." She grinned at Lily who was throwing daggers with her eyes.

Mr. Evans's eyes lit up. "And do you have any plans for the future?"

"Yes," James nodded. "I'd like to go into Quidditch professionally. My back up plan is to work for the Ministry in the Auror department."

Lily knew her father did not know what an auror was, but this answer seemed to greatly please him, for his eyes flickered to Lily and then back again. He clasped James on the shoulder. "You're a fine young lad, James."

James smiled that polite and charming smile. "Thank you, sir, I appreciate it."

Lily breathed out slowly. No wonder why James's head was so damn big—he was simply to charismatic for his own bloody good!

"Thank you, Maggie." Mrs. Evans touched Maggie's arm warmly as they finished the rest of the groceries. She turned to Lily. "There's still a carton of eggs left in the trunk, would you mind—?"

"I would be happy to help, Mrs. Evans," Sirius shot her a handsome grin and stood. "James, would you like to assist me?"

Mr. Evans chuckled. "It doesn't take two lads to carry one carton of eggs,"

James whispered after Sirius was in the corridor, "Weak arms."

"_And_ he has a sense of humour!" Mr Evans grinned delightedly and clasped his hands together, turning to his wife. "Anne, I can already picture the grandkids."

Lily groaned loudly. Maggie laughed.


	5. Margret Tightwad Potter

"Lily, dear, why is there a toilet disk on the counter?"

"Mum, I can assure you that there is a perfectly legitimate reason. However," Lily continued, leading Maggie by the sleeve out of the kitchen, "I must have a word with Maggie in the sitting room."

"Do you have attention deficit disorder or something?" Maggie asked, sitting on the sofa, arms crossed.

Lily sat beside her, eyebrows furrowed. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh, I don't know. You're dragging me around by the arm and can't seem to stay in one place nor on one subject of conversation." Maggie paused, then shrugged and added, " And it makes me sound intelligent."

Lily put a hand to her forehead and sunk further into the couch. "Just give my brain a moment to process..."

And for once, Maggie did as she was told. She had to bite her lip to do so, and though she feared it may bleed, it was worth the pain. She couldn't count on her fingers how many times she had had to choose between her best friend and her cousin because of the friction between them. This time, she was impossibly on both sides at the same time, and she knew that in order to make things not implode she would have to excercise much more self-restraint than she normally used.

Lily breathed out deeply. "Okay." She stood and positioned herself as if going to war. "If I don't make it, tell my owl I love him." She stepped into the kitchen.

Maggie shook her head and muttered, "Drama queen..."

The next several minutes consisted of the story behind the toilet disk, James and Sirius returning with a carton of broken eggs, Mr. Evans asking James, Sirius, and Maggie about Wizarding homes, Mrs. Evans leaving to fetch a new carton of eggs, and finally, as the conversation turned towards Quidditch and the spare tickets James just "happened" to have for the World Cup, Lily ushered the group outside to the Evans's backyard (and as far away from her father as possible).

"Narcissus," Sirius commented, bending down to sniff a bed of flowers.

"I'm impressed." Lily admitted, pushing her hair over her shoulder. "Sirius Black: notorious badass by day, softie florist by night."

Sirius straightened and smiled an odd, faraway smile. "Actually, my cousin is named after them...Narcissa Black."

"Oh." Lily said, thinking she had touched a sore spot. She looked at Maggie who's expression said to change the topic of conversation, and quick. But the nice thing about Sirius Black was he always had something to talk about, reliving Lily from groping for small talk.

"Notorious badass, huh?" Sirius quirked an eyebrow.

"Or so some people think." Lily shrugged.

The sun was low in the sky, but even the late evening could not halt the mid-July heat waves. Lily sat down on the steps that led inside, leaning her head against the cool metal handrail. Maggie was laying beside Sirius in the grass, and James was walking her way.

"Beautiful day," James commented lightly. He sat beside her, a step down, and propped his elbows up on the step above him.

Lily picked her head up. "Yeah..." She admired the intricate way the sun cast it's rays upon the grass and how the trees blew gently in the wind. It really was stunning.

"Hot, though..." James added.

Lily found it hard to believe that James Potter was making small talk to her. It was somehow sensitive to see him doing so. It made him seem less egotistical and more...real.

"Yes." Lily agreed. "I wish there was a pool nearby."

James grinned. "Or a sprinkler."

"Huh?"

James pointed.

It took Lily a moment to realize she was actually seeing this with her own eyes: Sirius and Maggie were stripped down to their knickers and dancing around in the sprinkler. For, what they were doing could only be qualified as dancing, as their hands met and their feet moved in time to imaginary music (though if this situation had been romantic, the two of them could have been swaying in time with the wind, but as it was decidedly not, they looked a bit odd dancing to nothing).

"Please shoot me if there's something going on between them?" Lily not so much asked as ordered James.

"Er—not that I know of." James appraised his cousin and his best friend. The thought had never occurred to him before.

"In that case..." Lily jumped to her feet and ran over to the sprinkler where she whisper-yelled, "What the hell are you doing?"

Sirius spun Maggie, who said, "Cooling off."

"Really? And I thought you were beating each other with the hose. That at least I would find entertaining. You realize I have neighbours? Religious old ladies who have fifty cats and disapprove of skirts shorter than their ankles!"

"Wow, Evans," Sirius said. "No wonder why you're bored."

"You wanted something to do," Maggie pointed out as Sirius spun her around again.

Lily crossed her arms. "Brilliant idea! Why don't I strip down to my knickers and join you? Then perhaps we can go smoke on the street corner and offer joints to little children that pass by!"

"Don't give him any ideas," James muttered, coming up behind her.

"You have quite a diabolical mind for such a stickler, Evans." Sirius looked impressed.

"Just be spontaneous!" Maggie urged. "It's past five; the old ladies are already in bed."

Lily looked at James, who seemed to have swapped places with Maggie for the moment. He shrugged. "It is rather warm..."

"Shut up, James," Maggie implored, "she knows you have ulterior motives."

Lily shook her head. "Dinner is at seven." She turned her back and walked inside.

"And I've already pissed her off..." Maggie muttered, hastily drying herself with her wand and pulling her clothes on. "Don't do anything I wouldn't," she told James and Sirius. "Scratch that—don't do...anything. Yeah." She ran inside.

Sirius stared after her, and James couldn't help but to ask.

"There's nothing...?"

Sirius pushed his hair back. "What?"

James opened his mouth to speak but changed his mind. "Nothing."

-...-

"I'm sorry."

Lily did not move from her position face down on the sofa.

"I swear, from from now on I'll be Magret Tightwad Potter. Just, please don't be angry with me."

Lily grunted.

"I'll take that as a yes. Will you do the honour of swearing me in?"

Lily grunted again.

"What was that?"

"I said," Lily sat up, "will you, Margret Esther Potter, accept the duty and responsibility of changing your middle name to Tightwad?"

Maggie solemnly put her hand up. "I will."

"And, in any circumstance that may present itself in the future, will you refer to yourself as such with pride and without hesitation?"

"I will. Tightwad is just as proper as Esther anyway. What my parents were smoking when they named me, I'll unfortunately never know. Which is a bloody shame, because I want to try some."

Lily breathed out a laugh. "I'm not mad at you. Don't apologize. My week is already ruined, I at least want _you_ to enjoy yourself." She sighed. "My parents are just driving me up the wall...and my sister..."

"Say no more," Maggie sat down beside Lily, glancing around the room. "Your parents _do _have odd tastes...you weren't kidding about the wallpaper."

"You should see their bedroom," Lily shuddered. "Looks like a bloody circus..."

"They aren't contortionists, are they?" Maggie smirked.

Lily hit her in the arm.

-...-

"Dinner looks absolutely delectable, Mrs. Evans."

Mrs. Evans smiled, flattered. "Thank you, Sirius. Harold, will you pass the rolls around?"

"What are you kids up to tomorrow?" Mr. Evans acquiesced. "You know, there's a carnival downtown that opens Monday."

"Yeah, I thought we'd go to that sometime during the week." Lily said, putting a bite in her mouth.

"They're supposed to have a ferris wheel and everything this year," Mr. Evans continued. "Ever been on a ferris wheel, boys? No?"

And that was all Lily remembered of the dinner. She tuned out all of the talking and smiled when she heard her name. Luckily for her the conversation revolved mostly around the fact that none of the three guests owned a television or a car. She loved her father, but he was very talkative and very, very curious.

The next thing she knew, her plate was cleared and James was insisting that he wash the dishes. Lily thought this to mean purely wand work, a swish and a flick, but to her surprise he collected all of the plates and silverware and set to work on filling the sink.

"I have to use the loo." Maggie declared, excusing herself.

Lily noticed Sirius was already missing from the room before her mother tilted her head towards the kitchen and said, "Help James with the dishes, will you?"

He was performing admirably, Lily thought, inspecting his work. The sink was full of soapy water and he had placed the dishes in the right positions on the drying rack.

"Looks like you don't need any help," Lily said as she approached him. "I didn't know you knew how to do dishes the Muggle way."

James shrugged. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

In the blink of an eye, Lily Evans saw more of James Potter than she ever had before. Rather, it wasn't what she saw, more than what she hadn't yet seen. She had realized there was more to him than meets the eye, and somehow it had only taken him to roll up his sleeves and immerse his hands in a sink full of dishes for her to discover he that.

-...-

The sun streaming in through the curtains woke Lily the next morning. She stood and stretched before thoughts of the day before consumed her mind. Thinking twice, she got back into her bed and pulled the covers over her head. This was going to be a long day.


	6. The Sky is Really Blue

At nine twenty-three on the morning, Lily stealthily made her way down the stairs. Like a hunter searching for it's prey. It was a weird analogy, but it seemed to suit the situation.

She paused just outside the kitchen door and listened intently. She wasn't sure whether she was doing this to prepare herself for what lay within, or to convince herself to go back to her nice, warm, comfy bed...melt into the sheets and just sleep for eternity...

Shaking her head roughly to rid herself of this absurd yet strongly appealing idea, Lily sucked in a breath and stepped into the kitchen. And what awaited her was a polite "Good morning," and a pajama clad James who sat at the table eating a bowl of cereal, a newspaper laid in front of him.

Lily released her breath, for once glad that she solely had James Potter in her kitchen. She lingered in the doorway for a moment before taking a seat across from him. 'Morning..."

James smiled crookedly. Lily shifted in her seat. James Potter was seated at her kitchen table and smiling an attractive smile. It was a confident smile. A smile that no one in his position should be smiling. Did he have to be so damn sure of himself all the time?

"What?" Lily asked, her elbow propped up on the table and supporting her head.

He was leaning back in his seat, that infuriating smile still on his face. He shrugged. "Nothing."

Suddenly she was self-conscious. How did her hair look? She tipped her head down to run fingers through her messy bun, and as she did so she realized her bra was sticking out of her low cut bed shirt. She immediately pulled it up and accused, "You were staring at my bra!"

His reaction was not what she expected: he quickly paled, that smile dropping off his face and his eyes widening. "No, no, no—I wasn't, I swear!"

She cocked an eyebrow, impressed at his acting, but still far from convinced.

"I..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I—I was looking at your eyes."

"And why in Merlin's name should I believe that?" She crossed her arms.

James breathed out, and hazel met emerald, and he said quietly, "Because they're beautiful."

She was speechless, and she knew for once be wasn't playing with her, he was being sincere. More sincere than she had ever seen him be.

"Chaps!" Sirius burst in the room with his arms raised at the two of them, breaking the tension harshly: both Lily and James jumped. Sirius sat down at the table, James coughed loudly, and Lily hastily busied herself making a pot of coffee.

"Maggie still asleep?" Sirius asked, leaning back in his seat and threading fingers through his dark hair.

James nodded. "I think so. I swear she could sleep through a nuclear war."

"What?"

"Oh, er—Muggle thing." James shrugged.

Lily leaned her back against the counter and crossed her arms. "I had no idea you actually paid attention in Muggle Studies."

It was true. In class the majority of the time he was all but reminiscent of a person admitted into a psychiatric ward for severe brain damage.

James flashed her that god-awful smile. "Yeah, I just wish Professor Quinn taught us what toilet disks were so we don't use them as mouth fresheners." He looked sideways at Sirius, who retorted nonchalantly with, "It was one lick. And it did make my mouth fresher, by the way."

"Tell that to the next bird you snog."

Lily shook her head at the two of them. There wasn't another pair like James Potter and Sirius Black.

"Right, well, if you're so concerned about my personal hygiene, perhaps I'll go shower." Sirius stood.

"I suggest you do so without the aid of my razor," Lily strictly implored, eyeing him.

"I assure you, I have come well equipped." Sirius flashed her a grin before stepping out of the room.

Lily, realizing she was once again alone with James, turned back towards the coffee that was slowly brewing. A minute passed in silence.

"How do you like it?"

James coughed, lifting his head up from the newspaper he had been pretending to be immersed in. "Pardon me?

"How do you like it?" Lily repeated, turning to face him. It was a pretty simple question. Perhaps he did have brain damage after all...

James looked dumbstruck. "I...I—come again?"

Lily pointed a finger to the coffee pot. "Coffee—how do you like it? You know—black, cream and sugar?"

"Oh...er, cream and sugar."

She raised an eyebrow. "What on earth did you think I meant?"

"I suppose I didn't hear you right—the, er, acoustics in this room are quite unbalanced..." James rambled, hand snaking up to rub the back of his neck.

Lily sighed. "You are staying at my house. You are sleeping in my spare bedroom. You are using my shower. Can you please have something besides sex on your mind for at least the next five days?"

James vigorously shook his head. "I wasn't—I thought you said something about—about how do I like my butter, or cow, or—or..."

She smirked.

He flattened his fringe with one hand. "And so you can see my confusion..."

"Wow. That was bad even for you."

He nodded. "It was, wasn't it?"

Lily nodded with him. She poured two mugs of coffee and retrieved the milk from the fridge, and set that along with a dish of sugar on the table. "You'll have to make do with milk—everyone here drinks theirs black."

"I'll survive." He assured, testing the waters with the tip of his tongue before shuddering at the taste.

"I certainly hope so. I need you alive; I torture my prey before I murder it." She took a sip quite ominously.

"I think I actually just got goose bumps."

"And I think that's actually disgusting."

"What?" James asked as he poured cream and sugar into his coffee like there wasn't a shortage of either somewhere in Africa (or a similar impoverished foreign country).

Lily moved her eyes back and forth between James and his coffee cup. "Do you really have to ask that?"

"I have sensitive taste buds."

"You have sensitive taste buds."

"Yes." James took a sip and made a face before adding more sugar. "And for the record, that sounded a lot manlier in my head." He took another sip, then cradled the mug in his hands, satisfied. His eyes widened and he hastily added, "Not that I can't handle my, you know, drink. I can."

Lily smirked. His face was completely flushed. An embarrassed, rambling James Potter was something she could get used to.

"We'll have to test that theory, shall we?" Lily's smirk disappeared into her mug.

"What theory?" Maggie asked as she stepped into the kitchen, threading fingers through her damp, dark hair. "And thanks for the call for the tea and crumpets." She poured herself a cup of coffee.

"We were just discussing James's sensitive taste buds," Lily grinned. "Apparently it doesn't run in the family."

Maggie sat down with her coffee at the table. "Yeah?" She laughed. "You should see him after a drink."

"Yes, that was our theory." Lily explained, glancing slyly at James.

"Right, well," James began, "if that's a challenge, I accept. I can't drink Mags under the table, but you, Miss Evans, don't stand a chance."

"I don't stand a chance in hell, do I?" Lily turned towards Maggie. "Did I hear that correctly?"

"I never said—"

"I believe you did hear correctly, Lily." Maggie smirked at James. "You should learn not to challenge a lady so condescendingly, Jimmy." Her expression was almost evil as she finished speaking, knowing what embarrassment was in store for her dear cousin (who was now in death row).

Lily smiled too sweetly at James, who appeared to pale ever so slightly as he realized the stakes: his honour. He took a sip of his mug.

"Yes, drink your coffee." Maggie said. "While you can..."

And poor James Potter _did_ drink his coffee. He drank it in muted silence while Maggie and Lily talked and complained loudly about their monthlies, thanking every God there was that he didn't have a sister (though Maggie might as well have been one; half of her belongings were at his house anyway). It was only when Sirius entered the room that they changed the subject, for Sirius would not sit in silence during this specific area of conversation, he would join in and cause as much awkwardness as possible before someone (usually Lily) shoved something in his mouth (usually her fist) to shut him up.

"What are we talking about?" Sirius asked, leaning against the counter, arms crossed. He wore ripped up blue jeans (Lily was beginning to wonder if he owned any jeans without holes) and a tee-shirt with a familiar band on the front.

"You like Pink Floyd?" Lily asked, mildly surprised at this.

Sirius looked down at his shirt. "Oh, no. Remus does though, just must've slipped into my trunk."

"Do you even look at what clothes you're putting on?" Lily asked.

"Not usually," Sirius shook his head. "I find clothes altogether rather confining." He winked.

"So I've seen." Lily smiled tightly. "To my unfortunate displeasure."

"Shall we make plans for the day?" Maggie asked, quite eager to avoid conflict. "I'm up for a run if anyone wants to come along...?

Lily, who was not much one for running, scrunched her nose. Maggie looked at her with wide eyes. Lily sighed. "Fine—but I'm walking."

-...-

At quarter to eleven, Lily stood out in the street in front of her house dressed in a short sleeved white blouse and jean shorts that reached her mid-thigh; not clothes one would expect a runner to support. And in truth, Lily Evans wasn't big on exercise of any sort. It did nothing but mess up her hair and cause large pools of sweat to build up in the pours of her armpits (neither of which she was too fond of).

"You're not even trying," Maggie accused upon seeing her attire.

Perhaps it was genetics, or that was what Lily blamed it on anyway, but Maggie was the complete opposite of Lily when it came to all things exercise related. She ran every morning, had to die for calves, and legs that were, as Lily referred to them, "so abnormally long genetic mutation must be involved." Maggie shared her love of running and her mutant legs with James, who was also dressed to the nines in shorts and sneakers.

"I believe I said I was walking," Lily reminded. "If you follow this road to the end then take a left and a right, you'll come to a common. I'll meet you there."

Maggie bounced on her heels. "You're missing out!" she called over her shoulder as she ran up the street alongside Sirius (who had been stretching not a moment before).

"And I was looking forward to racing you," James teased, falling into step beside Lily as she began to walk along the row of hedges separating the houses and the sidewalk.

"You don't have to—"

"Maybe I'm in the mood to travel at an incredibly slow and inefficient pace."

Lily brushed her hair out of her face. "When you put it like that, who wouldn't be in the mood?"

James considered her for a moment. "You know, I can't tell if you're mocking me."

"Let me stifle your anticipation and put you at ease: I am."

"Ouch." James rubbed his arm as though she had punched him, then he clutched his heart dramatically. "And I didn't know words could actually bruise..."

"You're such a drama queen."

"At least I'm a queen," he pointed out. "What does that make you?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Not Freddie Mercury,"

"Who?"

Lily grinned, "Unfortunately they don't teach that in Muggle Studies."

It brought her some kind of odd satisfaction when she brought up things he didn't know about. He was much to smart for his own good, and it went straight to his head (along with other masculine parts of his body), but when she knew something he didn't, it made him seem less cocky and more sincere. That, and it felt nice to know something he didn't.

"Wait—queen, like the band Queen? Freddie Mercury? Isn't he the lead singer?"

Lily was impressed. Too impressed. Damn, did he have to know everything? "How do you—ah. Remus?"

James nodded. "I do catch bits of his ramblings from time to time, and damn can he go on about his music. Have you seen his records? Mint-fucking-condition, I swear to you. Treats them like his sprogs."

Lily laughed, picturing this. "Yeah?" A thought occurred to her. "Why isn't he staying with you and Sirius? Isn't his permanent vocation to keep you two out of trouble?"

James looked down, hands in pockets. "He certainly has the required skills, fast-talking, quick wit, much too reasonable..."

"Don't be so critical."

"He's fucking brilliant, but that goes without saying. He's caught up at home until Wednesday or so...family stuff." James shrugged.

Lily nodded understandingly, assuming further than James let on. "Right. And does Sirius live with you now?" She laughed slightly.

"Yeah..." James looked at the sky. Lily couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic. He looked down the street, and then at her. Their eyes locked for what she deemed much too long, and she looked away, clearing her throat. He moved his eyes back to the sky. "The sky is really blue today."

She couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her face. He was so horrible at small talk.

"Yes, it is," she agreed, her eyes following a cloud that reminded her of a pumpkin (one with many warts and a very long stem). She looked at the ground. "The pavement is very grey today."

"Okay, now I'm positive you're mocking me."

She looked at him. "What gave me away?"

He grinned and ran a hand through his hair. "Can you maybe say something that doesn't demean my intelligence? Just a suggestion. Might make me feel a bit more confident."

Lily snorted. "Yeah, as if you of all people need confidence."

James stood straighter. "You know, I take high offense to that."

"Shut up."

"May I remind you that I am your guest and should be treated as such?"

"May I point out that your fly is unzipped?"

James looked down, and sure enough it was. He rectified this error and raised an eyebrow at her. "Shall I ask what possessed you to look at that certain location?"

"I will not dignify that question with a response." Lily said through a blush (damn her red hair and pale complexion).

James, merely pleased that she was embarrassed, graciously changed the subject.

"So what the hell is a ferris wheel?"


	7. Black Dogs, Red Heads, and Bird Leavings

If Lily had to rate the rest of her morning on a scale from one ten, she would give it about a seven (seven point five if she was feeling extremely generous). She and James bantered back and forth all the way to the park, but it wasn't hostile banter, it was really quite pleasant (considering the elements and certain circumstances she had been unknowingly forced into). She was almost having fun. (Almost.) And if it couldn't quite be classified as fun, she might call it at least civil.

"Where do you suppose they've gone to?" Lily leaned against the fence surrounding the park and craned her neck for signs of Maggie and Sirius.

James put his hands in his pockets, then quickly removed them (hoping Lily may want to spontaneously hold his hand, but of course this was much more than wishful thinking). He shrugged. "Knowing Sirius, probably eating."

"Ice cream?" Lily asked, spotting a small vendor across the park. Even if they weren't there, she was up for a spot of ice cream.

The two began to walk towards it when a great black dog came bounding in front of their path.

"Oh my..." Lily's eyes widened at the size of the dog (which should have been classified as more of a wolf). She laughed when the dog began excitedly tuning around in circles and then jumped up onto it's hind legs as if showing off. "Well aren't you sweet!"

James had to restrain his eye roll (for it would be much too Remus-esque), and quickly looked around the vicinity for a distraction.

"There's Maggie," he pointed to no avail. Lily was now scratching behind the dog's ears. Before it could roll over onto it's belly, James tried again, "We should go—that thing could be ridden with disease, it doesn't have a collar or tags."

The dog barked loudly and jumped up to lick Lily's face.

"Oh, he seems all right," she grinned at the pooch. "Aren't you? You're certainly handsome enough."

The dog barked excitedly as if it were answering her.

"Smart, too," Lily ran her hand up and down it's black shaggy fur.

James brought a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes. He would never hear the end of this.

"Hey," Maggie appeared beside James. She was carrying two ice cream cones. "Did you see where Sirius has gone off to?"

"Can't say that I have," James said through gritted teeth.

"Where did you get those?" Lily asked, looking at the ice cream cones.

Maggie motioned to the ice cream kiosk. "There, why?"

"Please tell me you brought Muggle money and didn't confound him," Lily narrowed her eyes as Maggie's expression turned to one of guilt. "Maggie, I have money! You couldn't have waited five minutes for me to—"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Maggie sighed, and she looked sincere. "It was Sirius, anyway. He's too damn persuasive..."

Lily breathed out. "I'm going to smack him."

"I guarantee I will smack him harder," James guaranteed. "Don't turn around."

Lily did turn around and as soon as she realized the dog was gone, she saw Sirius coming out from behind a tree.

"What the hell were you doing?" Maggie demanded. "Your ice cream is melting all over my hand."

"Want me to lick it off for you?" Sirius asked as he took his cone out of her hand and winked quite seductively.

Lily wrinkled her nose. "If I weren't so disgusted by that comment, my fist would have already found the side of your face. Lucky you. Can I have a word with you, Maggie? Over there."

James waited until Lily dragged Maggie away (to no doubt lecture her more about the legality of her actions) to round on Sirius.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

"You bloody know what! What if—"

"Since when have there ever been 'what ifs,' Prongs? When did you become so cautious? We're seventeen—we have plenty of time to be old and boring."

"Maybe I grew up Sirius." James said bluntly. "Maybe I don't want to be a dickhead to Lily anymore. But if you want to, be my guest. Nothing's stopping you." He began to walk away, disregarding the fact that his decision to be gentlemanly to Lily really had nothing to do with Sirius's little stunt (however it was still relevant enough to bring up).

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "James, your dad—"

"This has nothing to do with my father!" James snapped. He glared at Sirius for a moment before he walked away.

Sirius sighed. He knew for a fact that this had everything to do with James's father, and he didn't have a clue what to do about it.

-...-

Damn Sirius. Damn Sirius and his damn ability to know exactly what he was thinking even when he tried his best to cover it up. Damn damn damn.

Amidst his thoughts, James vaguely recognized someone sit down beside him and begin speaking to him.

"Er—sorry, repeat that?"

Lily wore a smile. "I don't quite know how to say this, but you've just sat in bird leavings."

James closed his eyes. "Fantastic."

She half-laughed. "Stand and I'll fix you up...there. Much better,"

"Thank you," James sat back down on the wooden bench beside her. They were off to the side of the park under a rather tall tree, and had I not been the perfect spot for birds to nest, it would have made quite a romantic location.

Lily considered him as he was enveloped in his thoughts once more. It was strange seeing him like this. On a normal occasion (normal being quite a relative term), he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to be alone with her like this, and now he wasn't even engaging in conversation. She made up her mind and got to her feet.

"Let's go," she took his arm with her hand and pulled him to his feet.

He looked at her if he were just seeing her for the first time. He let out the most intelligible thing his mind could muster: "Huh?"

Lily smiled empathetically. "You look like you could use some ice cream."

-...-

Maggie breathed out, her hands on her hips. Lily had a point, she knew that. That was the problem: Lily always had a valid point. She was angry, Maggie knew that much. But again, Lily was almost always angry. It was the red headed genes—she would bet anything on it. Why couldn't her father have been exotic, or something? Iraticate the temper alltogether and spare Maggie the whiplash.

But, no. That was unfair. Lily had the right to be mad. In fact, Maggie had practically given her the right on a silver platter.

Interrupting her train of thought was someone's hands wrapping around her waist.

"Can you just _not_?" Maggie heatedly turned around and came face to face with Sirius. She looked behind him. "What if Lily had seen—?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "What is it with you Potter folk and secrecy?" He took both of her hands in his. "If I want to hug you, Maggie, you should give me that full right, _and_ all related rights. So I can do this..." He kissed her. "...and this..." He burried his face in her neck.

She pushed him away. "Our deal was no one finds out, Sirius, and that's a bit hard when you're snogging me in the middle of a public park!"

"The loo, then?"

Maggie grinned and tapped his nose. "You know just what a girl likes."


End file.
